Mickey’s World of Illusion – SEGA Megadrive

Hello my Retro-Holics, how does this grey, miserable Monday find you? I am hoping the answer is…AWESOME! Today I showcase the Megadrive with a great Disney platformer….

World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck on the Megadrive/Genesis!

Well lets start off with the plot then shall we folks? Yes, I thought you’d agree with that, here it is then!

Whilst preparing for a magical act, Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck discover a magical box. However, this turns out to belong to an evil magician who sends Mickey and Donald to a magical world. Mickey and Donald must now work together in order to find a way back home.

That’s the plot then, nice and simple but does it play well?…in a word YES, yes it does. The Disney influence is in your face from the moment you start up the cartridge, showcasing many different Disney features ( the caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland can be seen in the very first screen in the game ), other Disney franchises such as Aladdin, Little Mermaid and more can be seen featured in some way during the game. The cool feature that stands out in this game is the 2 player co-op mode, which opens the game up into a much more fun experience than the dare I say, dull single player mode. But lets face it folks, anything seems dull when you are going it alone compared to grabbing a friend and playing with them ( steady! I see where your minds were attempting to go there! ).

The first thing that grabs your attention are the details and bright vibrant colour palettes, and of course the animation! My God this game is gorgeous to behold, it truly is. From walking, running, jumping and swishing your magic cape, it’s like playing a cartoon. Essentially this game is a plat-former, and a very well designed one it is too, you will encounter many bosses that grant you new powers when you defeat them…the first is a magic carpet of your very own to use on certain levels. Attention to detail is amazing and the artists obviously know how to animate and make a Disney game great in the looks department. The game scrolls from left to right, up and down in some levels also, puzzles to work out such as which platforms to stand on and when to do so and how long to stand on some ( which crumble if you stand too long ). Enemy sprites will turn into cute little animals and plants when you swish your cloak over them ( And this is your primary attack method ). I think this little gem would appeal to most age groups, yes even you adult types sitting there thinking…you’ll never get me playing that….well in front of your football chums, no….but grab someone and link up on Co-op and BOOM! there goes your evening!

You can control Mickey or Donald in single player, but in Multiplayer you and a friend control them both, at the same time. You can solve puzzles as a team, allowing your team mate to stand on your shoulders to access higher platforms for example. They both have different skills too, where as Mickey can crouch under objects, Donald would have to find an alternate route, so it’s all about the team work here, which is great!

Graphics:- Well what can I say that hasn’t already been said? The artists here clearly have loved putting this game together, and there is a lot of love gone into the animation, character and level design and the palette, it’s just awesome.

Sound:- Again, here we have a very bouncy Disney style music track that really has you bobbing your heads along with the tunes. The sound effects are nice too and inserts of speech from Mickey and Donald complete the ensemble, just sweet!

Overall:- I would recommend this game to anyone who A) Loves plat-former games and B) Loves playing co-op with their mates, it’s simple really….get it, play it, love it!